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Zeroing In on How Healthy Is the Job Market

Part of the Zeroing In Series
Should we be concerned that 37% percent of the US population is not working?  What does that mean?
Should we be concerned that 37% percent of the US population is not working? What does that mean?

About 63 percent of Americans are working or looking for work, but what about the rest? And what measures might help boost job prospects for out-of-work Americans? Jared Bernstein and Michael Strain discuss the nation's labor participation rate and what it tells us about the health of the U.S. economy, with moderator Aaron Chatterji.

Bernstein is a senior member of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former member of the Obama administration. Strain is the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Chatterji is an associate professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and Sanford School of Public Policy.

Listen to the Podcast

Zeroing In takes a look at key issues on the election agenda, one number at a time. Numbers matter, but in politics, they can be used to muddy the waters rather than enlighten. Each episode of Zeroing starts with one key statistic tied to a critical issue in the 2016 election.

Zeroing In is produced by the Duke Office of News and Communications and engineered by Johnny Vince Evans.